The Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, is organizing the BIMSTEC Youth Summit from 7th to 11th February 2025 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will formally inaugurate the event on 8th February 2025, marking the beginning of the BIMSTEC Youth Summit.

During the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu on 30th -31st August 2018, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India announced the hosting of a three-day BIMSTEC Youth Summit, aimed at bringing together the youth of BIMSTEC nations on a unified platform to exchange experiences and insights on youth-led initiatives undertaken by member states.

The primary objective of the BIMSTEC Youth Summit is to facilitate the exchange of experiences and youth-led initiatives among member countries. Centered around the theme “Youth as a Bridge for Intra-BIMSTEC Exchange,” the summit seeks to harness the collective energy of young leaders to advance the region’s shared goals. The Government of India aims to channel this youthful energy towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The summit will provide an invaluable platform for dialogue on the progress and advancement of SDGs, bringing together 70 delegates from BIMSTEC nations. Each member country will be represented by 10 youth delegates, selected for their expertise in key areas, fostering targeted discussions that will contribute to meaningful outcomes from the summit.

At the ongoing 38th National Games in Uttarakhand, four-time Olympian archer Tarundeep Rai from Sikkim won the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Recurve event today. Juel Sarkar from West Bengal clinched the Gold while Indira Chand from Services Sports Control Boar clinched the Silver medal.

Sikkim Olympic Association (SOA) congratulated ace archer Tarundeep Rai on winning the bronze in archery, adding yet another remarkable achievement to his illustrious career. Sikkim Olympic Association General Secretory Jaslal Pradhan said, a four-time Olympian and one of India’s most celebrated archers, Rai’s latest feat is a testament to his dedication, skill, and perseverance.

SOA president Kuber Bhandari said Tarundeep Rai’s success is a moment of immense pride for Sikkim and the entire sporting community. His dedication continues to motivate young athletes to dream big and achieve greatness.

The Kerala government approved the Kerala Health System Improvement Programme after securing a Rs 2,424.28 crore loan from the World Bank. The project, aimed at improving public healthcare, was cleared during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday. It will be implemented under the Programme for Results (P for R) model.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the programme’s main goal is to enhance life expectancy and ensure a better quality of life for the people of Kerala. It focuses on preventing diseases, accidents, and premature deaths while strengthening healthcare infrastructure.

K Balasubramanian will succeed Ashu Khullar as India subcontinent sub-cluster and banking head of Citibank, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will report to Amol Gupte, head of Asia South and banking head.

Khullar, who has led Citi India since 2019, will now serve as co-head of global asset managers (GAM) alongside Anthony Diamandakis. He will also be part of the investment banking global operating committee.

During Khullar’s tenure from 2019 to 2025, Citi recorded strong growth, emerging as the top investment bank across the equity capital market and mergers and acquisitions, the US-headquartered bank said in a statement.

President Javier Milei has ordered Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organisation due to profound differences with the UN agency, a presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday (February 5, 2025).

Mr. Milei's action echoes that of his ally, U.S. President Donald Trump, who began the process of pulling the United States out of WHO with an executive order on his first day back in office on January 21.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has settled claims of five crore subscribers in financial year 2024-25. Claiming that the achievement is a record, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said here on Thursday that the pension fund regulator disbursed more than ₹2.05 lakh crore in this financial year through these settlements. In the last fiscal, the EPFO settled 4.45 crore claims worth ₹ 1.82 lakh crore.

Mr. Mandaviya said a series of transformative reforms initiated by EPFO helped in enhancing claim settlement processes and reduce grievances among members. “We have implemented key measures, including an increase in the ceiling and categories of auto-settled claims, simplified member profile changes, streamlined PF transfers, and improved KYC compliance ratios. These reforms have significantly improved the efficiency of EPFO,” he told reporters. Auto claim settlements doubled to 1.87 crore claims in 2024-25, compared to 89.52 lakh auto claims processed during 2023-24.

Thousands of Kodavas from different parts of the district and the State congregated at Madikeri on Friday for the last leg of the “Kodavame Balo Padayatra” - an 84 km long community march seeking constitutional safeguards to protect the community’s culture and traditions.

Nearly 25,000 people had assembled at General K.S. Thimayya Stadium to mark the finale of the march which began at Kutta on February 2 and covered a distance of nearly 84 km spread over 6 days.

Described as historic, it was the first such event in Kodagu that saw the congregation of the community members in thousands.

Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Minister of State, Ministry of Education inaugurated the NSDC International Academy at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The academy is a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide world-class skill development and training programs.

The NSDC International Academy is a landmark initiative designed to bridge the gap between Indian youth and global employment opportunities. It will serve as a center of excellence, offering specialized training programs aligned with the skill demands of countries like Germany, Japan, and Israel. Shri Chaudhary flagged off the departure of 11 candidates headed to Germany.

He toured the NSDC International Academy, interacted with students about their life journeys, and offered them motivation and also experienced the AI and VR facilities, advanced labs present at the centre.

A new seafloor map reveals an area in the Arctic Ocean twice the size of France and six times the size of England. This addition contributes to the Seabed 2030 project, which aims to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. The project, launched in 2017, published its findings in -Scientific Data by Nature.

Extreme conditions and perennial sea-ice have historically made Arctic mapping difficult. However, technological advancements and advanced computing methods have enabled researchers to gather detailed data from this remote region. The updated dataset, released as part of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO), adds 1.4 million square kilometres of new seafloor information.

"This release underscores the importance of regional initiatives like IBCAO in helping us achieve our goal of a fully mapped ocean floor by 2030," said Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Director of Seabed 2030. "It represents a crucial step towards making essential data accessible for sustainable ocean management."

Iran has inaugurated its first drone-carrier warship, saying the vessel is capable of operating in oceans far from its mainland, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

The report said the vessel, manned by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's navy, can carry several squadrons of drones as well as helicopters and cruise missiles. Named Shahid Bagheri, it's capable of launching cruise missiles, IRNA said.

With a 180-meter-long runway for drones, the vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports. The report said it was converted from a commercial ship and would increase Iran's power of deterrence.